Pathfinder Therapeutics Lands $5 Million Series A Round - Financing Led by Hatteras Venture Partners Helps Launch the First System for Surgical Guidance in the Abdomen

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pathfinder Therapeutics, Inc. (PTI), a medical device company focused on the development of “surgical GPS” systems for the abdomen, announced that it has closed on a $5.2 million Series A financing round led by Hatteras Venture Partners of Research Triangle Park, NC. Other investors included Florida Gulfshore Capital, Clayton & Associates, Nashville Capital Network, Lumira, and Vanderbilt University. Concurrent with the financing, Clay Thorp and Bob Morff, PhD, from Hatteras Venture Partners and Richard Molloy from Florida Gulfshore Capital have joined the Board of Pathfinder, and Bob will serve as interim CEO.

“After speaking with dozens of surgeons and thought leaders around the world, we are confident that Pathfinder will fill a critical void for modernizing surgical precision in the exploding field of robotic and image guided surgery,” said Clay B. Thorp, General Partner, Hatteras Venture Partners. “As a first mover with strong intellectual property and some of the best thought leaders in the field, we believe that Pathfinder is well-positioned from a strategic and marketing point of view.”

New capital will finance the launch of PlaniSight Linasys and SurgiSight Linasys, medical devices focused on the planning and intra-operative navigation of liver surgery. SurgiSight Linasys, an integrated system of hardware, software, and proprietary tracked tools, received FDA 510(k) clearance in December 2007. PlaniSight Linasys, a software system for pre-operative planning for liver surgery, received FDA 510(k) clearance in September 2008. The company is currently conducting a post-clearance clinical trial for Linasys, funded by a SBIR grant from the National Cancer Institute. Sites for the trial are the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, the Memorial Sloan Ketttering Cancer Center, and the University of Florida Health Science Center. Pathfinder’s products will be formally launched at the American Hepato-Pancreato-Billary Association (AHPBA) meeting in Florida in March 2009.

“This investment allows the translation of our research and development from the laboratory to the hospital and now to the marketplace where it can help the maximum number of patients," said Robert Galloway PhD, co-founder and Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. "Our team of engineers and surgeons at Vanderbilt has been a leader in system development for surgery and other forms of therapeutic guidance beginning with brain surgery. We are now able to bring the advantages of such guidance to the liver, kidney and other abdominal organs.”

“Vanderbilt has nurtured and developed Pathfinder for several years,” said Harry Jacobson, MD, Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “We are pleased to have a firm of the caliber of Hatteras join us in helping Pathfinder enter this next phase as an independent, entrepreneurial success.”

About Pathfinder Therapeutics, Inc.

Pathfinder Therapeutics, Inc. is a medical device company dedicated to increasing the number and effectiveness of surgeries on abdominal and other soft tissue organs. Pathfinder improves surgical precision by allowing surgeons to “see through” the organ they are operating on by registering the surgical instrument in three-dimensional space onto pre-operative patient medical images. Pathfinder is the first company to receive FDA clearance for a medical device to navigate liver surgery using preoperative medical images, SurgiSight Linasys. SurgiSight Linasys uses state-of-the-art line of sight localization and laser range scanning surface registration techniques to show surgeons where they are in the context of their target organ and underlying structures. In addition to SurgiSight, Pathfinder sells PlaniSight Linasys, a software system for liver surgery planning. Beyond the liver, Pathfinder is developing guidance systems for the kidney, pancreas, and other organs. For more information go to: www.2pti.com.

About Hatteras Venture Partners

Hatteras Venture Partners is a venture capital firm based in Research Triangle Park, NC, with a focus on biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and related opportunities in human medicine. Founded in 2000, the firm consists of an experienced team with a broad and complementary skill set that is particularly relevant to building successful new biomedical companies. The Hatteras Venture Partners team brings operational experience, a successful track record, and a proven ability to enhance the value of the companies in which it invests. With three funds, the firm has more than $120 million under management. For more information go to: www.hatterasvp.com.

For more information about Florida Gulfshore Capital go to: www.gulfshorecap.com.